Sadie Ann is headed for Superior, WI.
SUPERIOR, WI – University of Wisconsin-Superior is launching a new classroom, but it’s not just four walls, desks and a whiteboard – this one floats. The university’s new two-level teaching and research vessel, the Sadie Ann, set sail for Superior on Aug. 30. After a roughly 40-day trip, its arrival culminates a yearslong effort initiated by an anonymous grant in 2019 that kick-started the project.
The Sadie Ann, a 65-foot-long aluminum catamaran — a watercraft with two parallel hulls — can carry up to 49 passengers. Students will be able to go on excursions on the Sadie Ann with their classes, and campus researchers will sail it on the St. Louis River and the U.S. waters of western Lake Superior to conduct experiments.
“The way people really learn best is to get out on the water to be able to touch it, feel it, sample it, look at the water from a different perspective,” said Matt TenEyck, director of the Lake Superior Research Institute, which operates the Sadie Ann. “We invite all disciplines, all organizations, all community members, governmental agencies to work with us and to collaborate with us on whatever program they want to deliver.”
The Sadie Ann replaces the L.L. Smith, the research vessel UW-Superior retired in 2012. A University of Minnesota Duluth Research Vessel, the Blue Heron, is also docked in Superior.
The Sadie Ann’s main deck has wet and dry labs, a moon pool opening and fold-down diving platforms at water level that researchers and students can use to take samples. The second deck has a 300-square-foot classroom with internet access, large windows and movable seating. The Sadie Ann is a hybrid vessel, powered by two diesel engines, and two electric motors and a battery pack. “We really want to be on the cutting edge and help advance the technology,” TenEyck said.
The vessel will serve all ages, from area K-12 students to UW-Superior students, TenEyck said.
And the teaching on the Sadie Ann also won’t stop at scientific research and water sampling, he said. Professors in the communications and music departments, as well as community organizations, have expressed interest in using the ship, he said. The Sadie Ann could also host yoga or other health and wellness activities for students.
The Sadie Ann’s delivery crew sailed overnight for the first time Sept. 3, on day five of its trip from Midship Marine boatyard in Harvey, Louisiana, en route to Clearwater, Florida. It then will head north along the Atlantic Coast before beginning the next leg of its journey, up the St. Lawrence River and into the Great Lakes, where it will eventually be docked at the Montreal Pier in Superior. Once the Sadie Ann arrives, a captain UW-Superior hired will lead the vessel’s voyages: Dean Marshall, will join part of the Sadie Ann’s trip to Wisconsin to learn the ins and outs of the ship, TenEyck said.
The exact arrival date will be dependent on the weather, TenEyck said. “If we don’t get to a full-fledged public celebration now, for sure we’ll have one in the spring,” he said. “There’s no doubt about it.”
There were some bumps and delays in getting the Sadie Ann to its launch date, TenEyck said. The U.S. Coast Guard has certified the Sadie Ann after several levels of inspections and safety tests that took longer than anticipated to complete, he said. A 76-day partial government shutdown that ended in April, suspending the Coast Guard’s non-emergency operations, also delayed paperwork needed to begin Sadie Ann’s homecoming.
Students will be able to go on excursions on the Sadie Ann with their classes, and campus researchers will be able to take it on the St. Louis River and the U.S. waters of western Lake Superior to conduct experiments.
The vessel is named after Sadie Ann Bashara Swenson, whose family has strong ties to UW-Superior. She was a student at UW-Superior in the early 1930s and a mother of eight children. She died in 1955. Her son, Jim Swenson and his wife, Sue, founded the Swenson Family Foundation, which funded the construction of the Sadie Ann alongside other private donations to support its operations.
Another of Sadie Ann Swenson’s sons, Bill Swenson, is an emeritus professor of biology and associate of the Lake Superior Research Institute. The vessel’s namesake is after Sadie Ann Bashara Swenson, whose family has strong ties to UW-Superior. She was a student at UW-Superior in the early 1930s and a mother to eight children.
Sabine Martin | Wisconsin State Journal Sep 12, 2026
